Self-defined “clown-transvestite-literary”, Salvador Walter Barea went down in history as Batato Barea and just saying his name to bring back the collective imagination the porteño underground culture of the 80s where it shone and left its mark in flames.
He was just 30 when he died on December 6, 1991, but by then he had already done enough to be recognized then and now as an innovator, a unique character, avant-garde, provocative and ahead of his time.
This Thursday he will receive a tribute with a series of activities and shows in the Abasto district, organized by the city’s Ministry of Culture.
A bit of history
Actor, performer, variety artist and clown, Batato was born in 1961 in the city of Junín. Then catechism was part of his university life like that of all the boys of that time, but Batato was not a boy like the others. To begin with, as a teenager, he has publicly accepted his homosexualitywhen this still implied exposing oneself to the gaze of others and assuming the consequences.
But something in him pushed him further and, against all prejudice and predictions, after graduating as a commercial expert, he looked for a thousand ways to make his way in the artistic world.
Before stepping on the stages of the Buenos Aires Metro, Batato she worked as a waiter, cadet, salesman and masseusealthough his goal was to transform and revolutionize the Buenos Aires scene.
In a few years, with his desire to break the mold, he has crossed various fields and genres: from personal to group works as an actor and others as a director. Also, he was part of groups like Yoly Hairstyles or El Clu del Claun.
Together with artists such as Alejandro Urdapilleta or Humberto Tortonese, he has explored the universe of happenings and spontaneous performances based on poetic texts by Nestor Perlongher, Fernando Noy, Alejandra Pizarnik and Alfonsina Storni in the by now legendary spaces such as the Paracultural Y Concreteamong others.
His training as a clown with Cristina Moreira was fundamental, since with that tool and acid humor as an ally he was able to better deal with several traumatic episodes of his life, such as the experience of military service and the premature and tragic death of his brother.
Theatre, rock and parody, brought to their fullest expression, were part of his identity. His work, condensed, compressed and exploited in a few years, was enough for him to share the stage Antonio Gasalla, Vivi Tellas and Alejandra Flechneramong many others.
His passion for work and his art, always on the edge, was, perhaps, an attempt to leave no stone unturned, to leave this world with no regrets or unfinished business with himself. The stage was where she could rebel, spew her creativity and outrage, in an effort to forget her anguish and the marks the AIDS virus was beginning to leave on her body.
Batato Barea kept that physical and spiritual pain to himself: hardly anyone knew of his illness and acting relentlessly helped him hide it, and he did so until the last moment. He died on December 6, 1991, in Montevideo, after participating in a festival. I was 30 years old.
the taxes
Three decades later, his legacy continues to resonate on the Buenos Aires scene in different ways: the most important hall of the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center bears his name and there are several books tracing his life.
On the other hand, this Thursday, December 8, will be honored with a series of activities that will be carried out as part of the cycle On-site supplyorganized by the Ministry of Culture of Buenos Aires in that neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
At 18:00, at El Tano Cabrón (Jean Jaures 715), there will be sea bateta, a performative poetic reading inspired by the work of Batato. At 18.40 it will be the turn of A-Batatanosa recital of music and poetry from the balcony of El Zorzal, in the Soma Cultural Space, in Anchorena and Zelaya.
At 19:00, in this same space, in Zelaya 3006, Fernando Noy, Juan Cavalli, María José Gabin, Damián Dreizik and Peter Pank will meet in a series of readings of fragments of different works and texts that were part of the Buenos Aires metro from the 80s, as well as a short concert by María Graña and Esteban Morgado.
Finally, at 20 there will be a Batatesca partyorganized by Alexander Roswith DJ, light set and clown make-up for the participants, among other surprises.
His friend Fernando Noy recalls him thus: “Batato, even without meaning to, was an absolute pioneer in practicing an ultra-lyrical, nonconformist and even countercultural neostyle, currently inherited by countless creators who, like the great Apulian tango, invoke his profane holiness, before every function”.
For his part, the designer Alejandro Ros, who also knew Batato very well, defines it like this someone “from another world”. And he says, “His voice, always declaiming, his movements, his clothes, the way he does things, his unforgettable laugh. A visionary who put on her boobs as a political act and to lift her butt. We will try to invoke the spirit of him at the party ”.
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Source: Clarin
